No septic exceptions, except for this one?

Published: Friday, January 9, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 8, 2009 at 8:40 p.m.

A rule is a rule, except when it's not. The same goes with exceptions.

Consider the case of Brian and Kelly Snell of Sarasota.

The Snells own one of three houses on 33 acres of oak hammock west of Interstate 75 and south of University Parkway. Brian's father bought the land in the '70s, and everyone who resides on it is a Snell by birth or marriage.

Because the property lies within the Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program, Sarasota County insists the Snells must hook into its sewers.

That could force them to spend up to $45,000 to run three lines, another $15,000 or so for the county's charges, and of course, a doubling of their utility bills for eternity.

The lines cost so much because the homes sit hundreds of feet from the new utility line on Mink Road.

The county launched its now $160 million sewer project because septic systems -- most of them on densely developed, quarter-acre lots -- were polluting Phillippi Creek and Sarasota Bay.

But because septic systems perform much better on larger sites, with bigger drainfields, it makes sense that the Snells homes would qualify for an exception to the county's forced-connection ordinance.

No exceptions, they were told.

Yet, at the end of Mink Road, a few blocks from the Snell property, sits the Ravenwood subdivision, also within the sewer program boundaries. Homes there do not have to hook up, although about half were built before 1983, when stricter septic codes were adopted.

Snell has a 2001 letter in which County Commissioner Paul Mercier affirmed the exception. The reasoning: Ravenwood's 101 lots are one acre each.

"What it basically comes down to is a discrimination issue," Kelly Snell says. "And the only explanation I can come up with is that we're not politically connected. We shouldn't be treated any different than the people in Ravenwood."

The county says Ravenwood did not receive an exception. A sewer line was "stubbed out" at the subdivision's border and could be extended into Ravenwood in the future, says project controls manager Lori Carroll.

If that's not an exception, it's the next best thing, and one that would probably satisfy the Snells.

Mercier, who just retired from the commission, suggested a solution: Exempt the Snell property provided its septic systems meet modern standards and work properly.

It's a fair compromise, which some might say is an exception to the rule when it comes to government. But it doesn't have to be that way.

<p>A rule is a rule, except when it's not. The same goes with exceptions.</p><p>Consider the case of Brian and Kelly Snell of Sarasota.</p><p>The Snells own one of three houses on 33 acres of oak hammock west of Interstate 75 and south of University Parkway. Brian's father bought the land in the '70s, and everyone who resides on it is a Snell by birth or marriage.</p><p>Because the property lies within the Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program, Sarasota County insists the Snells must hook into its sewers.</p><p>That could force them to spend up to $45,000 to run three lines, another $15,000 or so for the county's charges, and of course, a doubling of their utility bills for eternity.</p><p>The lines cost so much because the homes sit hundreds of feet from the new utility line on Mink Road.</p><p>The county launched its now $160 million sewer project because septic systems -- most of them on densely developed, quarter-acre lots -- were polluting Phillippi Creek and Sarasota Bay.</p><p>But because septic systems perform much better on larger sites, with bigger drainfields, it makes sense that the Snells homes would qualify for an exception to the county's forced-connection ordinance.</p><p>No exceptions, they were told.</p><p>Yet, at the end of Mink Road, a few blocks from the Snell property, sits the Ravenwood subdivision, also within the sewer program boundaries. Homes there do not have to hook up, although about half were built before 1983, when stricter septic codes were adopted.</p><p>Snell has a 2001 letter in which County Commissioner Paul Mercier affirmed the exception. The reasoning: Ravenwood's 101 lots are one acre each.</p><p>"What it basically comes down to is a discrimination issue," Kelly Snell says. "And the only explanation I can come up with is that we're not politically connected. We shouldn't be treated any different than the people in Ravenwood."</p><p>The county says Ravenwood did not receive an exception. A sewer line was "stubbed out" at the subdivision's border and could be extended into Ravenwood in the future, says project controls manager Lori Carroll.</p><p>If that's not an exception, it's the next best thing, and one that would probably satisfy the Snells.</p><p>Mercier, who just retired from the commission, suggested a solution: Exempt the Snell property provided its septic systems meet modern standards and work properly.</p><p>It's a fair compromise, which some might say is an exception to the rule when it comes to government. But it doesn't have to be that way.</p>